(from “The Joy of Pasta")
The first main courses I ever cooked were pasta dishes, and when I met my husband, “The Joy of Pasta” was our cooking bible. This is a pretty rich dish, so a little goes a long way. And though I may cheat with the bread crumbs in the mac and cheese recipe above, in this recipe, it pays to use really good quality Italian sausage and cheese.
1/2 pound green fettuccine
1 2/3 cups milk, heated until small bubbles appear on top
9 tablespoons butter
4 1/2 ounces fontina cheese, grated
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 pound Italian sweet sausage, casing removed and meat chopped fine and sautéed briefly until just cooked
1/2 teaspoon dried fennel seed
6 large eggs, separated, yolks lightly beaten
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Cook fettuccine until al dente; do not overcook. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot in which it was cooked.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the milk to the drained hot pasta, and mix a little. Add the butter, fontina and parmesan cheeses, sausage, fennel seeds and salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture cool. Add the egg yolks and mix thoroughly.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold the egg whites into the fettuccine mixture. Turn the mixture into a 3-quart soufflé dish or casserole and bake for 30 minutes. Turn up the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10 minutes more. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.
